Videotron announces VoIP

Videotron, the Quebec cable and Internet company is joining the ranking of the other big providers in announcing that VoIP service is coming. Theirs will launch mid-next year.

The other cable companies have announced launches as has Telus and Bell Canada. I wonder if the days of the standard POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line are numbered?

My thinking is no. Why? Electricity. When the power goes out, generally, phone lines are still working. If you have a basic phone, it works. With VoIP you have to have electricity, at least at this point, to run the router and sometimes the phone itself. And you can be sure that if there is some big disaster that the Internet is going to be jammed. Sure, so will the POTS network too, but if all you have is VoIP, you don’t have a fall back.

I do like the promise of VoIP, but you also have to make sure that you have the back up POTS line, at least for now.

Videotron in Quebec launching VoIP

Montreal — Vidéotron Ltée, the cable television unit of Quebecor Inc., is set to launch residential Internet-based telephone service in Quebec by the middle of next year.